The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of garden rose plant which originated from a controlled crossing conducted in the summer of 1990 between xe2x80x98Bonica 82xe2x80x99 and an unnamed seedling. The two parents were crossed and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99.
The new rose may be distinguished from its seed parent, xe2x80x98Bonica 82xe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. The seed parent has soft pink flowers which are 60 mm in diameter with 35 to 40 petals, while xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 has white flowers which are 80 mm in diameter with 12-18 petals.
2. The seed parent is bushy and somewhat compact, while xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 is taller with arching canes.
The new variety may be distinguished from its pollen parent, an unnamed seedling, created by the same inventors, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. The unnamed pollen parent has numerous, small, semi-double, light yellow flowers while xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 has numerous, white flowers which are 80 mm in diameter.
2. The unnamed pollen parent has smaller foliage and a low growing spreading habit.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety for nursery and garden use was to create a new and distinct variety with unique qualities, such as:
1. Abundant, white flowers and recurrent blooming;
2. A shrub class rose with a vigorous, but uniform growth habit;
3. Glossy and disease resistant foliage which requires limited maintenance, making it ideal for use in landscapes;
4. Good growth, on its own roots, and as a traditionally budded plant.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 was selected by the inventors in the Spring of 1991 as a single plant from the progeny of the aforementioned hybridization.
Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 by traditional budding was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in August 1991. This initial and other subsequent propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULdiramxe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.